What are mot people using to talk to friends over the web?
I personally thing msn messenger is crappy!
What is the best alternative?

Well, aside from this forum, I'm partial to IRC...

It doesn't require much bandwidth, knowledge and does away with the need to register...

Just get a client, agree on server network and channel (or what nick's you're using), and you're good to go...

The only problem with it, is that it's only realtime, so your messages won't be there for the person when (s)he logs on the next time...